A period of Albanian piracy () occurred from the 15th to the 19th centuries, during which Albanian pirates plundered and raided ships. These pirates were based mainly in Ulcinj, but were also found in Bar and Ragusa (now Dubrovnik), and had connections with North Africa.
They plundered European ships mainly for the Ottoman Empire, disrupting the Mediterranean economy and forcing European powers to intervene. Some of the pirate leaders from Ulcinj, such as Lika Ceni and Hadji Alia, were well-known during this period. The Porte gave the name "name-i hümayun" ("imperial letters"),Maria Pia Pedani. The Ottoman-Venetian Border (15th-18th Centuries). p. 46 bilateral agreements to settle armed conflicts. The Ottoman Empire was also known to hire these pirates during periods of war. Some of the most famous barbary pirates of the Mediterranean Sea were the Ottoman Barbarossa brothers Oruç and Arnaut Mami.
The pirates of Ulcinj, known in Italian as lupi di mare Dulcignotti (Alb. ujqit detarë Ulqinakë, 'Ulcinian sea wolves'), were considered the most dangerous pirates in the Adriatic. They were not poor and violent criminals, but rather well-paid and established professionals; they were tactical merchants, traders, transporters, smugglers, diplomats and pirates whenever it suited them. They alternated between piracy and trading depending on season, enemies or local conflicts. Indeed, the captain of the Venetian galleys Alvise Foscari (1675–1751) wrote:
Origin
The first sign of piracy around the region of Ulcinj was documented during the Illyrian period, with pirates raiding Roman ships. The Labeates-tribe was known to live off piracy. In 1405, Ulcinj was occupied by Venice and remained a pirate haven despite the Ottoman conquest in 1571. By the end of the 16th century, around 400 pirates from Malta, Tunisia, and Algeria were based in Ulcinj. The coast of Ulcinj, Durrës and Cape of Rodon was sailed by pirates since the year 1096.
Accounts of pirate activity
14th century Between 1320-1347, Albanian privateers, among other pirates, attacked both Muslim and Christian vessels in the Ionian and Adriatic sea.
Between 1368 and 1389 the Albanian Balsha owned their own ships and operated as Albanian pirates. Because of their anti-Ottoman attitude, the pirate activity of these Albanian lords was tolerated by the Republic of Venice. However, they limited Venice's operations.*
15th century
The Dalmatian writer Coriolano Cippico published in 1442 a short story in Venice of the campaign of the Doge Pietro Moceniga describing the Dulcignotes:
In 1479, Vlorë had become a pirate nest who raided both Venetian and when a peace agreement was signed between Venice and the Porte, Mehmed II ordered Gedik Ahmed Pasha to pay damages done by the pirates of Vlorë. The locals did not obey.Maria Pia Pedani. The Ottoman-Venetian Border (15th-18th Centuries). page=44
In 1486, during the Venetian-Ottoman wars, Albanian pirates raided the lower Adriatic and Venice sent commander Dario to deal with them.
Fernand Braudel notified in 1536 the Venetian senate that Albanian pirates were actively raiding ships between Corfu and Albania. In 1570, Albanian pirates were recorded to have inflicted heavy casualties on Venetian boats. In 1571, the pirates reached a climax with about 400 pirates from North Africa, Maltese, Serbian, Albanian and Turks causing chaos in the region. There was also "The Pirate Dance" invented by Albanian pirates where after a successful attack, the pirates celebrate by roasting meat, eating halvah and dancing ritual dances.
16th century
During the 16th century, Ottomans attacked Ulcinj, the most notorious pirate haven of the Adriatic sea. There the Ottomans destroyed much of the pirate fleet. Nevertheless, the raids persisted.
In October 1503, six ships sailing from Vlorë reached Santa Maria di Leucca cape, and captured 60 people and offered their liberation for a price of 30 dukats.The role of money in wartime. Second Conference of the Museum of the Bank of Albania. 2018. Tirana p. 98. https://www.bankofalbania.org/rc/doc/LIBRI_KONF_MUZEUT_2018_anglisht_15837.pdf
In 1525, the pirates of Dulcigno attacked the city of Riviera delle Palme (Marche).
In January 1537, the Venetian ambassador in Istanbul, Tomasso Mocenigo, according to a letter from Suleiman I to the sandjakbey of Elbasan, had complained that privateer ships had attacked the Venetian territories and taken slaves who were sold in Durrës.
In 1554, 6 pirate vessels returned to Vlorë and were intercepted by a Venetian squadron who captured them, liberated their captives and then held the pirates under captivity.The role of money in wartime. Second Conference of the Museum of the Bank of Albania. 2018. Tirana p. 101. https://www.bankofalbania.org/rc/doc/LIBRI_KONF_MUZEUT_2018_anglisht_15837.pdf
In 1559, the Provveditore Pandolfo Contarini saw a pirate ship while patrolling the Gulf, and began pursuing it. The ship stopped at Durrës, where the pirates found protection under the Ottomans thus violating the agreement of 1540. Contarini ordered an attack and bombarded the harbor and the pirates had to surrender the goods and the ship, and when Contarini returned to Venice, he was removed from service and replaced. The sultan Qânûnî blamed the commander for having assaulted a merchant ship and Venice replied that they had negative experience with piracy and that Albanian merchants and pirates were not always discernible. The Sultan reacted rhetorically to Venice saying "I take care of my pirates, and you take care of yours" referring to Venice inability to deal with Maltese, Genoese and Cyprian pirates.
In 1571, in preparation for the Battle of Lepanto, Kara Hace, an Albanian pirate lord, commander and aga from Vlorë, gathered a fleet of ships.
In 1573, after the peace between Venice and the Ottomans, Dubrovnik served as an intermediary for Albanian pirates and those wishing to liberate their captives who would be kept at the Ragusans houses until the money arrived.
In May 1575, the pirates attacked the Spanish galley Sol, defeated the crew and towed the ship to the port of Ulcinj. Among the captives was Miguel de Cervantes, who was eventually released in 1580. The pirate leader Deli Topal Memi (Deli Topal Memi'ye) was given Cervantes' slave. In 1580, the pirates seized 25 ships at the bay of Kotor and the locals of Dubrovnik sent for help at the local pashas. In 1581, Ulcinj pirate lord Cafer Reis (Xhafer Reis) gathered 18 ships and robbed ships in the southern and central Adriatic forcing locals in the coastal towns to enforce their defences. The Ulcinj pirates became known as "Pulya and Sicilian whip". The locals of Kotor were mobilised by the Venetians who handed out rifles and gun powder to oppose the pirates. In the spring of 1587, the pirates robbed a frigate from Dubrovnik carrying 3,000 ducats to Carcass to buy wheat. The captain was killed and the crew wounded and sold into slavery in the Ottoman Empire. Venetian studies at the time estimated that around 36% of all the cargo of the ships were damaged by the pirates.
In 1586, Murad III ordered the sanjakbeg and the qadi of Vlorë to prevent the Albanian pirate Mehmed reis from shipping with his galliot to pillage Venetian lands. In 1590, a Venetian ship anchored in the Buna river, near Shkodër, to get water but were looted by the locals. In 1593, the Sultan ordered that ships built in Shkoder, fit for privateering, were to be prohibited and that pirate ships be burned.
In 1593, a conflict between Venice and Habsburg Spain emerged after the Venetian building of the fortress of Palma. For this reason, the Venetians were accused for getting too close to Habsburg territory with the rational of "to oppose the arms of the Turks". It also turned out that the Venetians targeted the region of Gradisca and were, according to Colemberg, financing Albanian pirates to raid Habsburg ships in the Gulf of Trieste.
17th century
In 1602, the Venetian ambassador, Nicolo Molin, complained about the situation, describing the Albanian pirates as "unbearable." In 1605, captain Bernardo Venier attempted to eliminate the pirates but failed. In the same year, the Sultan ordered that the pirates İbrahim ağa of Durrës, Mustafa ağa, Ahmed kahya, Bali, Mustafa, and Hasan kahya be arrested.Maria Pia Pedani. The Ottoman-Venetian Border (15th-18th Centuries). page=46 In 1611, despite warnings from the Sultan, the former sanjakbeg of Karlı-eli (Mehmed bey) and the sanjakbeg of Dukagin (Mehmed bey) continued to raid the Adriatic with their galliots, caiques and fustas.Maria Pia Pedani. The Ottoman-Venetian Border (15th-18th Centuries). page=45 In 1612, Albanian pirates, hired by Ottomans, attacked Venetian ships as a retaliation for the Uskoks raid, according to the Sultan who wrote a letter to the beylerbey of Bosnia: "Uskoks raided the zone of Makarska (Macarsca) but some Albanian boats attacked them and freed the Turks they had made prisoners; thus, the inhabitants of Gabela and Makarska equipped some kayıks to protect themselves from the pirates".
On May 8, 1607, 12 Uskok boats clashed in the Adriatic with Albanian-Muslim pirate ships and the Uskoks suffered a severe defeat.
In 1615, Prince Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor of Styria hired Albanian Uskok pirates to harass Venetian ships which led to war with Venice.
In 1617, Albanian pirate lords Avci Oglu, Kara Mustafa, Karaca Bali, and Aksak Hoca operated around Shkodër.
By 1630, Albanian pirates became a severe problem again, forcing Venice to request assistance from the Ottoman Empire. In 1638, Venetian sources refer to the raids of the pirates of Ulcinj along the Dalmatian coast and in the Candian War (1648-1669). In 1653, Venetian war ships patrolled the ocean warning nearby ships of the pirates.
In 1622, some pirates from Delvinë attacked ships in Venetian territory and 1623, Ulcinj pirates (Ülgünlular korsanları) attacked the subjects of Budva with vessels, which resulted in the Ottomans demanding that the stolen goods be returned and the pirates punished.
In 1637, the cities of Modon, Coron and Navarino demanded that the Ulcinj pirates release two Venetian slaves who had been captured during peace time.ÉCONOMES MÉDITERRANÉENNES ÉQUILIBRES ET INTERCOMMUNICATIONS XlIIe-XIXe siècles. 1983 Published by ACTES DU Ile. COLLOQUE INTERNATIONAL D'HISTOIRE, Athens. pages: 209, 213, 257, 541, 547 url: https://helios-eie.ekt.gr/EIE/bitstream/10442/14110/1/N03.003.1.0.pdf
In 1645, during the Cretan War, pirates from Ulcinj raided the Dalmatian coast forcing the islanders to defend their houses. In 1656, Ottoman pirates from Ulcinj and Santa Maura attacked and robbed Venetians ships into Trogir but were successfully chased away by the Venetian navy. In 1670, the Sultan ordered his commanders to stop the pirates from Ulcinj attacking Venetian ships. Antonio Baldacci wrote in the 17th century that there were at least 500 pirates around Ulcinj.Baldacci Antonio, L Albania, Roma 1929, str. 137.
In 1672, Venice demanded that the sandjakbeys of Shkoder burn the armed ships of Ulcinj.
In 1675, Krsto Zmajević from Perast was sent to eradicate the Ulcinj pirates for which he was rewarded with a golden necklace by the Venetian Senate.
In 1685, the Dulcignote pirates attacked Novigrad, numbering a population of 100, who were enslaved including the Venetian mayor.
On March 31, 1685, the Republic of Ragusa requested from the Sulejman Pasha of Shkodër in a document stating that they wanted 19 captives back who had been taken by Ulcinj pirates. In July, the pirates had liberated 19 captives but instead captured another 16.
In 1696, from August 9 to September 5, Venetian forces tried to invade Ulcinj which was defended by Ulcinj pirate lord Hajdar Karamindja (Hajdar Karamidžolu) who defended the city successfully.